Have you been wondering if a memory foam mattress could help you get a better night’s sleep? Millions of people have discovered memory foam and have enjoyed restful night after restful night. With either a memory form mattress or a memory foam mattress pad, you can sleep better with a simple mattress switch.
Memory Foam Mattress Buying Guide
Before you run out and buy the first memory foam mattress you see for sale, you need to have a little background on memory foam and what it can do. Thorough memory foam mattress reviews and a history lesson is a good place to start.
How the Memory Foam Mattress Came to Be
First of all, a little history lesson on how memory foam came to be. Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, NASA was looking for a way to counteract the g-force effects on astronauts and test pilots. The scientists realized that if the seat formed around the person’s body the stress of the g-forces would be less. However, they also realized that just any foam would not work. If they molded the foam around their body and then the person shifted their body even slightly, the effect would be gone. So they went to work to inventing specialized foam that would support weight evenly, yet spring back to its original shape when the weight was removed.
The end result of their trials was the parent of the memory foam mattress you can sleep on today. Oh, memory foam wasn’t available for consumer use right away. Early in the 1980’s the formula for visco-elastic foam, also known as memory foam, became public domain and companies could start developing it. However, it was very difficult to work with so not many companies picked up on it, at first. A Swedish company was the first to start experimenting with this product and after about 10 years they brought the Tempur-pedic mattress to consumers in Sweden. Within a year or so this product was made available in the United States and a whole new world of slumber was discovered!
Not only was the memory foam mattress available to consumers, but it became widely used in the medical field. Because of the way memory foam evenly distributes weight, memory foam mattresses were used in hospitals to help prevent bedsores and circulation problems in patients who were confined to bed. In time, memory foam has been used for wheel chair cushions, pillows for hospital beds and even neck braces.
Buying a Memory Foam Mattress
When they first hit the market, a memory foam mattress, also known as visco-elastic mattress, was very expensive. This was no doubt due to the extensive research and testing that the Tempur-pedic company had to invest in to be able to bring the memory foam mattress to the market. The price of the mattress made it out of reach for many consumers. But since more companies are creating memory foam beds, the price has come down so anyone can sleep on the best memory foam mattress!
If you have ever tried a memory foam mattress in a store, you know how incredibly comfortable they can be. In fact, many consumers have actually fallen asleep on the beds in mattress stores! The reason that memory foam mattresses are so comfortable is because they support your weigh evenly. Regular spring mattresses have coils that are joined together. When your body pushes a mattress coil down, the whole group moves, and as a result you get uncomfortable pressure points on your body. A memory foam mattress completely conforms to your body. It follows the curves and contours and fits you like a glove. The result is a very comfortable night’s rest, without any stiff areas in the morning.
Another plus for a memory foam mattress is when your partner rolls over or shifts in bed, you won’t get jostled around! Maybe you remember the television commercials for the original Tempur-pedic memory foam mattress. They would put a glass of water on the bed and then someone would jump on the bed. The water in the glass barely moved! This commercial was a real testimony of how well two people could share a memory foam mattress and BOTH get a good night’s rest!
Get the Best Memory Foam Mattress
Like we stated earlier, don’t just buy the first memory foam mattress you see. Like regular mattresses, there are different types of memory foam mattresses. They vary in firmness from soft to very firm and there is a formula that determines the firmness of the visco-elastic foam.
A memory foam mattress will have an indentation force deflection (IFD) rating, also known as an indentation load deflection (ILD). So, how is the IFD or ILD determined? Basically it is how many pounds it takes to make a 50 square inch, one inch deep indent on a four inch thick piece of visco-elastic foam. The more pounds it takes to make the indentation, the higher the IFD rating will be. The higher the IFD rating, the firmer the memory foam is.
Many people think that having a low IFD rating will give them a nice, soft memory foam mattress to sleep on. But having a very soft mattress can cause back problems. This is why many memory foam mattresses are created in layers. In some of these types of multi-layer memory foam mattress both layers are memory foam, but with different IFD ratings. There will be a lower IFD rating for the top layer and a higher rating for the lower layers. You will also find memory foam mattresses that have memory foam, or visco-elastic foam for the top layer and a non visco-elastic foam for the bottom layer.
You don’t need a foundation for a memory foam mattress. In fact, this type of mattress is created in a way that it is very comfortable when sitting on a hard, concrete floor. A platform will put the mattress at a comfortable height for getting in and out of bed. But you don’t need to buy and new platform bed. If the box springs of your old mattress is still in good shape, you can put a couple of pieces of plywood or other type of flat board between the box springs and your memory foam mattress. This should give you the support you want for the mattress.
You can now buy a memory foam mattress that is temperature sensitive. This means that the mattress is firm at room temperature, but as your body heat warms the foam the mattress will mold to your body in supreme comfort.
Memory Foam Mattress Toppers
Maybe you aren’t looking for a new mattress, maybe you want to add memory foam support to your existing mattress. If your mattress is still in good condition, you can add a memory foam mattress topper to it and enjoy the comfort of a memory foam mattress without the expense.
Just like when buying a memory foam mattress, you will want to check the IFD or ILD rating and get the mattress topper that has the firmness you want. But remember, the mattress topper will not be effective if the bed you are putting it on sags in the middle. If your mattress is fairly new and still supportive, then a mattress topper is a good choice. But if your mattress is sagging or has low spots, it is time for a new mattress anyway. So why not make it a memory foam mattress?
Before you buy, read a few memory foam mattress and memory foam mattress topper reviews and find out what other consumers like and dislike about the mattress topper they have. This is probably more helpful than reading the product information for a specific brand. Consumers are the best source of information about any specific product, and it is nice to see what people think after sleeping on a memory foam mattress or topper for a few weeks or months.